Douglas County approves municipal cannabis delegation agreements and three low‑potency hemp edible registrations

Douglas County commissioners on Monday approved memoranda of agreement delegating local registration authority for retail cannabis sales with municipalities and granted three registrations for low‑potency hemp edibles.

Dave Rush, the county's Land and Resource Manager, told the board several cities had earlier delegated registration authority to the county; the board moved to accept identical memoranda from the cities of Nelson and Brandon so the county can administer local registration and related fees.

Angie Hasbrook of Horizon Public Health said the product category—formerly called hemp‑derived cannabinoid products—is now regulated as "low‑potency hemp edibles," defined in the discussion as products with less than 5 milligrams of THC per serving. She said the Office of Cannabis Management (state OCM) reviews product labels and will investigate mislabeled products; locally Horizon will perform annual compliance checks for underage sales and report product concerns to the state for enforcement.

The board then approved three local registrations for low‑potency hemp edibles: Nelson Gas and Grocery, County Line Liquor and Sisters Beer, Wine and Spirits. Rush and Hasbrook said registration carries a local fee intended to cover compliance‑check costs; if fees fall short the county will seek reimbursement from delegating municipalities.

Commissioners discussed a recent legislative change that removed a portion of state cannabis tax sharing with counties; Rush said that revenue had originally been expected to help offset local compliance costs.

The board approved the memoranda of agreement and the three registrations by voice vote. The county will continue to coordinate local compliance checks with the sheriff's office and Horizon Public Health and to report product issues to the state's Office of Cannabis Management for product‑level enforcement.